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THE  CHARM  OF  THE 
IMPOSSIBLE 


^p  iflarffaret  §)lattErp 

Uniform  with  this  volume 
LIVING   TEACHERS. 
THE   TEACHER'S    CANDLESTICK. 
THE  CHARM  OF  THE  IMPOSSIBLE. 
THE    SEED,   THE    SOIL,    AND    THE 

SOWER. 
TALKS   WITH   THE   TRAINING 

CLASS. 


JUST  OVER  THE   HILL. 
GUIDE    FOR    TEACHERS    OF    THE 
TRAINING   CLASS. 

THE   PILGRIM    PRESS 

BOSTON       NEW    YORK       CHICAGO 


THE  CHARM  OF  THE 
IMPOSSIBLE 


BY 


MARGARET  SLATTERY 


THE    PILGRIM    PRESS 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT,  I9IO 
BY  F.  M.  BARTON  COMPANY 

COPYRIGHT,  1912 
BY  LUTHER  H.  GARY 


THE    PILflRIM     PRESS 
BOSTON 


ibib' 


THE  CHARM  OF  THE 
IMPOSSIBLE 


654243 


THE  CHARM  OF  THE 
IMPOSSIBLE 

"  'There's  no  sense  in  going  further — it's  the 

end  of  cultivation', 
So   they   said,  and   I  beheved   it — broke   my 

land  and  sowed  my  crop — 
Built  my  barns  and  strung  my  fences  in  the 

little  border  station 
Tucked  away  below  the  foothills  where  the 

trails  run  out  and  stop. 

"Till  a  voice  as  bad  as  Conscience,  rang  in- 
terminable changes 

On  one  everlasting  Whisper  day  and  night 
repeated — so : 

'Something  hidden.  Go  and  find  it.  Go  and 
look  behind  the  Ranges — 

Something  lost  behind  the  Ranges.  Lost 
and  waiting  for  you.    Go !' " 

And  men  have  gone.  To  the  far- 
thest corners  of  the  earth  they  have 
travelled  in  obedience  to  the  Voice 
that  calls  saying,  "Find  it,  find  it,  find 
it!" 


THE     CHARM     OF 

Columbus  heard  the  Voice  and  it 
rang  out  above  all  the  laughter  and 
scorn  of  his  fellows.  Having  once 
heard  it  nothing  could  silence  it.  He 
heard  it  in  the  night  time,  he  heard 
it  in  the  day  time,  he  could  not  get 
away  from  it.  He  followed  it  through 
Italy  to  Spain,  to  Portugal,  to  France, 
back  to  the  palace,  eager  even  to  seize 
the  queen's  proffered  jewels  if  thus 
he  might  obey  the  Voice.  At  last  with 
three  small  ships  and  a  convict  crew 
he  set  sail.  Through  an  unknown 
waste  of  water  with  his  tiny  ships  and 
his  handful  of  frightened  men  he  fol- 
lowed the  Voice — and  found  a  world! 

When  he  had  whispered  his  dreams 
and  hopes  to  his  fellow  men,  not  hear- 
ing the  Voice  they  had  answered  with 
one    accord,    "Impossible — the    thing 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

is  impossible."  But  the  charm  of  the 
impossible  was  upon  him  and  drew 
him  on  despite  every  peril  until  in  the 
gray  of  the  morning  he  beheld  the 
land  and  knew  that  some  day  the 
dream  would  come  true. 

One  evening  a  man  riding  on  horse- 
back along  the  foot-hills  heard  the 
Voice  calling  from  the  mountain  tops 
blazing  in  the  glory  of  the  setting 
sun.  "Something  hidden,"  it  said,  "be- 
hind the  ranges,  waiting — waiting." 
The  Voice  would  not  leave  him,  it 
sank  into  his  soul. 

Next  day  when  he  suggested  to  his 
men  that  they  cross  the  ranges  they 
lifted  their  eyes  to  the  snow  capped 
peaks  against  the  clear  blue  sky  and 
smiled.  "Impossible,"  they  said,  "the 
thing  is  impossible."  But  the  charm 
9 


THE     CHARM     OF 

of  the  impossible  burned  itself  into 
his  soul.  He  could  not  silence  the 
Voice,  so  he  followed  it  and  one  day, 
flushed  with  victory  and  triumphant, 
he  stood  on  the  other  side  of  the  ranges 
and  looking  down  upon  a  broad,  limit- 
less expanse  of  blue  waters  murmured 
—"Pacific." 

There  is  no  mountain  in  all  the 
world  so  high  but  that  some  man  has 
heard  the  Voice  from  its  summit  call- 
ing to  him  with  irresistible  power. 
Wooed  by  the  charm  of  the  impos- 
sible, man  after  man  has  scaled  sheer 
walls  of  rock,  crept  over  rivers  of  ice, 
crawled  along  deep  canyon  ledges 
until  at  last,  in  the  cold  thin  air  and 
the  dead  silence  of  the  upper-world 
he  has  stood — the  impossible  realized 
and  possible. 

10 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

There  is  no  desert  so  desolate  but 
that  to  some  soul  its  white,  glittering 
sands  have  called.  And  although  the 
gaunt  cacti,  fantastic  and  weird,  have 
pointed  their  fingers  in  warning,  cry- 
ing "impossible,"  yet  the  charm  of  the 
impossible  has  cast  its  spell  and 
through  the  scorching  heat  and  burn- 
ing thirst  men  have  crossed,  seeking 
the  hidden  thing. 

When  the  Voice  has  called  from 
the  sea,  men  have  launched  their  tiny 
boats  and  their  huge  liners;  down  into 
its  impossible  depths  they  have  sent 
their  divers  and  sub-marine  boats,  and 
in  the  midst  of  tossing  billows  have 
laid  their  cables  to  tie  the  nations  to- 
gether. 

When   the  Voice   has   called   from 

great    rivers,    over    them    men    have 
u 


THE    CHARM     OF 

stretched  their  bridges;  then  captured 
the  currents  and  fastened  them  to  a 
thousand  wheels;  then  under  the 
mighty  stream  hurrying  on  to  the  sea 
have  buried  the  tubes  through  which 
crowded  trains  rush  men  on  to  new 
tasks  and  endeavors. 

When  the  Voice  has  called  from  the 
mountains,  men  have  built  their  rail- 
roads up  to  incredible  summits,  and 
dropped  their  shafts  down  to  unthink- 
able depths. 

From  the  intangible,  invisible  air 
the  Voice  has  called,  and  while  the 
world  scoffed,  men  raised  a  pole  and 
from  its  magic  top  flashed  dots 
and  dashes  to  the  keyboard  of  a  ship 
scores  of  miles  away  at  sea,  to  send  her 
hurrying  on  her  mission  to  save  her 
12 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

sister  ship  struggling  vainly  with  wind 
and  wave. 

Now  the  Voice  calls  again,  and 
while  men  hold  their  breath  in  as- 
tonishment, a  fellow  man  wooed  by 
the  charm  rises  higher  and  higher  in 
the  sky,  circles  about  and  while  they 
watch  with  tense  and  eager  faces,  he 
flies  away  and  away  until,  a  mere 
speck,  he  fades  out  of  sight  on  the 
horizon. 

The  charm  of  the  impossible — noth- 
ing can  resist  its  power! 

Today  the  Voice  calls  again.  Still 
there  is  "something  hidden — lost — 
waiting." 

The  Voice  comes,  not  only  from  the 
deep  recesses  of  great  mountains,  the 
bosom  of  the  ocean,  the  desolate  desert, 
but  from  the  throbbing  heart  of  hu- 

13 


THE     CHARM     OF 

manity.  And  men  are  hearing  the 
call.  The  charm  has  fallen  upon  them 
and  the  desire  to  accomplish  the  im- 
possible burns  in  their  souls. 

"  'Something  hidden — waiting'  "  says 
the  Voice.  The  nations  are  large, 
not  great;  men  are  rich,  not  happy; 
prosperous,  not  fine.  Greed  and  need 
dwell  side  by  side.  Prodigality  and 
dire  poverty  walk  the  same  street. 
True  culture  and  false  display,  refine- 
ment and  vulgarity  meet  face  to  face. 
Men  do  not  understand  one  another, 
are  not  fair  to  one  another,  do  not 
love  one  another. 

Something  is  indeed  hidden  behind 
the  ranges  and  men  are  beginning  to 
go  and  look  for  it.  They  are  going 
to  the  bottom  of  things,  persistently 
striving  to  understand. 

14 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

"What  is  it?"  they  are  asking,  "that 
mankind  has  missed?"  "What  is  the 
real  explanation  of  the  breaches  be- 
tween man  and  man?"  "The  deep 
hunger,  the  great  lack — what  is  it?" 

And  from  behind  the  ranges  of  so- 
cial and  economic  difficulties  the 
Voice  has  replied — "Men  lack  the 
Spirit  of  Brotherhood.  Go  and  look 
— it  is  lost — waiting  for  you.    Go!" 

Men  are  going.  All  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men,  suddenly  as  one,  they 
have  heard  the  Voice,  felt  the  call  and 
have  started  on  the  long  search  for  the 
Spirit  of  Brotherhood. 

And  multitudes  deride  and  hun- 
dreds scoffingly  say,  "the  Spirit  of 
Brotherhood  would  mean  Utopia,  and 
Utopia  is  Impossible;"  yet  their  words 
are  not  strong  enough  to  break  the 

15 


THE     CHARM     OF 

charm  of  the  impossible  which  has 
fallen  upon  the  heart  of  man. 

And  so  a  great  scientist  who  long 
has  blest  mankind  gives  to  the  world 
of  humble  men  blocks  of  cement  with 
which  they  may  build  for  themselves 
comfortable,  decent  homes  in  which 
they  need  not  be  ashamed  to  live. 

So  a  rich  woman,  brought  up  in  lux- 
ury and  selfishness,  suddenly  feeling 
the  charm  of  the  impossible,  tears 
down  the  dirty,  wretched  rookeries  for 
which  men  have  paid  her  three- 
fourths  of  their  hard-earned  wages 
that  they  might  have  shelter  for  their 
families,  and  in  their  stead  erects 
clean  apartments  where  sunshine  may 
at  least  creep  in,  fresh,  life-giving  air 
find  its  way,  and  little  children  have 
room  enough  to  be  good. 

16 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

Then  her  sister  leaves  in  the  early 
morning  her  beautiful  home  with  its 
comfort  and  shelter,  to  stand  on  the 
street  corner  in  the  chilling  wind  with 
a  humble  girl  of  the  shops,  to  give 
her  courage  in  her  struggle  for  a  liv- 
ing wage.  The  pale  face  of  the  work- 
ing girl  kindles  with  hope  as  she 
catches  a  glimpse  of  this  powerful 
ally  come  to  her  aid. 

Next,    the    charm    falls    upon    the 

heart  of  a  lawyer.    A  lawyer  with  "a 

future"   if  he  will   take   it.     But  he 

hears  the  "voice  as  bad  as  conscience" 

that  will  not  let  him  go.    He  starts  his 

fight,   sounds   out   the   appeal   wrung 

from   a  heart  torn  by  the  facts  that 

stare  him  in  the  face.    The  power  of 

evil  fails,  he  wins  the  judgeship,  the 

juvenile  court  with  all  that  it  means, 
17 


THE     CHARM     OF 

is  born.  The  impossible  has  become 
possible  and  still  the  Voice  calls. 

Now  it  speaks  to  officials  in  the 
public  school,  and  poor,  white-faced 
children,  too  anaemic  to  work,  too  tired 
to  learn,  too  hungry  to  think,  are  given 
food,  placed  in  warm  bags,  wrapped 
in  sweaters  and  caps,  are  taken  from 
ill-ventilated,  overcrowded  school- 
rooms out  into  the  sunshine.  A  year 
passes;  two  years,  and,  strong  and  well, 
they  are  restored  to  society. 

Now  it  speaks  to  a  keen,  strong  man 
who  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  toiling 
childhood  of  the  world  as  it  hurries 
away  in  the  chill  of  the  early  morn- 
ing to  the  glass  factory,  the  cotton 
mill,  the  coal  breaker.  "The  helpless 
child  of  your  brother  man,"  says  the 
Voice,  "wakened  from  sleep  so  sadly 

18 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 


needed,  sent  out  to  the  long  day's  toil 
while  your  sheltered  ones,  with  sweet 
eyes  shut  tight,  wait  their  mother's 
kiss  to  waken  them  to  another  happy 
day.'» 

The  Voice  hurts,  it  calls  in  unmis- 
takable tones,  the  charm  of  the  im- 
possible falls  upon  another  heart  and  a 
new  seeker  of  the  Spirit  of  Brother- 
hood starts  on  his  journey. 

In  a  strange  place  the  charm  falls 
now.  It  comes  to  a  politician  in  a 
city  in  the  hills,  the  boss,  the  leader 
of  the  ring,  the  man  whose  word  is 
law,  who  has  filled  his  purse  with  the 
coins  taken  one  by  one  from  the  hand 
of  his  brother  man.  He  hears  the 
Voice,  day  and  night.  He  cannot  es- 
cape, he  breaks  with  the  ring,  he 
speaks  to  the  crowd  in  words  of  pas- 

19 


THE     CHARM     OF 

sion  and  power.  He  says  that  he  is  for 
justice  and  pure  government,  that  he 
is  the  poor  man's  friend,  has  washed 
his  hands  and  is  free  from  the  moneyed 
powers.  He  pleads  with  them  to  be- 
lieve him,  appeals  for  help  to  crush 
the  evil  he  knows  better  than  they. 
Astonished,  they  listen — the  charm  is 
upon  him,  he  will  yet  find  the  hidden 
thing. 

Again  the  Voice  calls.  This  time 
to  a  young  man  just  graduated  from 
college.  "A  talented  fellow,"  the 
world  calls  him.  Practical,  too,  he  is, 
sane  and  well-balanced.  He  has  a 
fine  family  record,  wealth,  social 
position,  everything,  and  he  goes  to 
the  South  Sea  Islands  to  throw  it  all 
away  on  wild,  barbaric  tribes  of 
strange,  brown-skinned  men. 

20 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

But  he  has  heard  the  Voice  and  be- 
hind the  ranges  he  must  go  to  find 
the  Spirit  of  Brotherhood.  If  behind 
the  ranges  means  to  islands  of  the  sea, 
it  does  not  matter  to  him. 

"You  cannot  help  these  men,"  his 
friends  say;  "let  them  alone,  they  are 
better  off  as  they  are.  One  man  can 
do  nothing  on  a  low  lying  island, 
sleeping  under  a  tropical  sky.  They 
will  take  your  life;  your  plans  are 
impossible  dreams."  Yet  the  look  upon 
his  face  as  he  answers,  silences  them 
all.  He  must  go;  nothing  can  keep 
him;  he  has  felt  the  charm. 

Buried  in  the  shadow  of  huge  build- 
ings filled  with  toiling  thousands,  lives 
another  who  has  felt  the  charm.  She 
might  live  under  the  cool  shade  of 
wide  spreading  trees  in  the  quiet  beau- 

21 


THE     CHARM     OF 

ty  of  the  country.  But  the  Voice 
says,  "No,"  and  so  she  lives  out  her 
practical,  helpful,  sensible  life  in  the 
midst  of  the  roar  and  din  of  the  city 
streets;  amidst  the  clash  of  things  that 
dull  men's  souls.  "What  can  she  do?" 
ask  the  scores  who  do  not  understand. 
"The  task  is  impossible."  But  while 
they  protest  she  discovers  a  new  world! 

Again  the  Voice  speaks  and  the  an- 
swer means  a  young  physician  em- 
barking for  a  leper  colony  to  bring 
comfort  and  hope  to  the  most  awful 
sufferers  among  men. 

Again,  and  the  answer  sends  a 
strong  man  filled  with  the  love  of 
congenial  surroundings,  home,  friends, 
wife  and  child,  away  into  the  silence 
of  the  forest.  Sends  him  tramping 
through  deep  snows,  in  the  bitter  chill 

22 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

of  loneliness,  to  the  very  heart  of  the 
deep  woods  to  find  his  brothers,  losing 
their  manhood  in  the  temptations  of 
the  logger's  camp. 

It  speaks  yet  again  and  finds  answer 
in  the  heart  of  a  Russian  nobleman 
who  feels  the  charm,  attempts  the  im- 
possible, loses  his  life  and  is  content 
in  the  knowledge  that  others  have 
gained  courage  through  him,  and  will 
press  on  in  the  search  for  the  hidden 
thing. 

Once  more  the  Voice  calls  and  finds 
simultaneous  answer  in  the  hearts  of 
an  oppressed  and  down-trodden  peas- 
antry that  rises  as  one  man  and  cries, 
"We  will  be  heard — give  us  our  lib- 
erty, our  birthright — we  are  men!" 

And    while    the    sword    of    power 

23 


THE     CHARM     OF 


hushes  for  a  time  the  eager  cry,  the 
Voice  speaks  on  in 

«     *     *     one  everlasting  Whisper  day  and 

night  repeated — so: 
'Something  hidden.      Go   and   find   it.      Go 

and  look  behind  the  Ranges — 
Something  lost  behind   the  Ranges.     Lost 

and  waiting  for  you.     Go !'  " 

Every  now  and  then,  as  the  cen- 
turies have  passed,  the  church  as  a 
whole  has  felt  the  charm,  has  heard 
the  Voice,  has  looked  behind  the 
ranges,  ofttimes  paying  for  that  look 
in  persecution,  trial  and  death.  Then 
for  long  periods  of  time  the  church 
has  lost  the  Voice;  has  rested  "where 
the  trails  run  out  and  stop";  has  been 
content  with  beautiful  buildings,  won- 
derful windows,  soft  lights,  marvel- 
ous music,  helpful  ritual,  and  words 
of     counsel,     exhortation     and     love. 


24 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

Again,  for  long  periods  of  time  the 
church  has  been  content  to  say  its 
prayers  in  words,  not  deeds;  has  spent 
its  precious  days  in  vain  discussions 
of  pitiful  phrases,  while  jealousy,  self- 
satisfaction  and  narrowing  bigotry 
have  crept  into  the  hearts  of  its  people. 

Then  once  more  the  Voice  that  has 
been  calling,  is  suddenly  heard.  The 
charm  falls  once  more  over  the  hearts 
of  the  church  and  a  great  unrest  stirs 
its  soul. 

In  such  a  time  the  church  finds  Itself 
today.  It  feels  the  great  unrest,  it  sees 
the  ranges,  it  hears  the  Voice  calling 
with  an  insistence  never  known  before. 
The  "something  hidden"  tempts  to 
new  efifort,  the  "go  and  find  it"  turns 
burning  words  of  prayer  into  deeds 
that  comfort,  uplift  and  bless. 

25 


THE     CHARM     OF 

Wooed  by  the  charm  the  church  ap- 
peals to  the  world.  "Men,  men,  O 
men!  let  us  help!"  it  cries.  "We  care. 
Give  us  a  chance.  Give  us  the  facts. 
Help  us  to  understand." 

At  first  no  answer  comes.  Men 
hold  aloof  in  distrust.  Then  here  and 
there  they  believe  in  the  sincerity  of 
the  cry,  and  slowly,  slowly,  both  rich 
and  poor,  those  in  the  church  and 
those  outside,  open  their  hearts.  At 
first  in  scornful,  bitter  words  of  pro- 
test the  explanations  come.  Hot  words 
of  passion,  unfair  accusations,  words 
born  of  deep  wrongs  long  endured, 
burst  forth.  Behind  the  words  lie  the 
facts.  They  are  hard  to  get,  but  gradu- 
ally the  great,  bare,  awful  fact  under- 
lying it  all  stands  forth  for  honest  eyes 
to  see — men  are  not  brothers  and  they 

26 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

do  not  want  to  be.  Under  the  heel 
of  the  most  powerful  monster  hell 
has  yet  brought  forth,  the  Spirit  of 
Brotherhood  lies  weakly  struggling. 
The  name  of  the  monster  is  Greed, 
personal  Greed — and  when  the  church 
sees  him  in  all  his  horrible  strength 
she  too  says  for  the  moment — "The 
task  is  impossible.  It  is  the  asymptote. 
We  cannot  achieve  it." 

But  the  Voice  has  been  heard.  Day 
and  night  it  is  repeated.  The  charm 
has  fallen  upon  the  church  and  it  can- 
not let  the  monster  go.  Already  he  is 
tormented.  Here  and  there  a  muscle 
weakens  and  the  end  of  his  rule  is 
sure.  It  will  only  take  time, — time 
enough  to  educate  and  equip  an  ene- 
my sufficiently  strong  to  meet  him  and 

in  a  fair  fight  rob  him  of  his  power. 
27 


THE    CHARM     OF 

With  a  new  zeal  the  church  has 
turned  to  the  task  of  equipping  that 
enemy.  His  name  is  Character,  and 
the  church  asks  the  assistance  of  every 
man  in  her  efforts  to  make  him  pure, 
true  and  fearless,  that  he  may  be  able 
to  stand. 

She  hopes  to  equip  him  by  means 
of  two  powerful  agents — instruction 
and  inspiration.  It  was  by  inspiration 
and  instruction  her  Lord  chose  to 
equip  the  world  with  new  power  and 
to  save  it  from  itself.  Neither  alone 
was  sufficient  for  the  task. 

Instruction  and  inspiration  are  both 
needed.    He  proved  it. 

He  loved  the  crowd!  In  the  street, 
at  the  feast,  at  the  wedding,  in  the 
temple,  anywhere,  he  loved  to  mingle 
with  men,  telling  his  wonderful  stories, 

28 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

asking  his  penetrating  questions,  heal- 
ing the  sick,  encouraging  the  weak 
and  bringing  sinners  to  repentance. 
He  loved  to  inspire  the  crowd,  to  send 
them  away  with  new  dreams,  hopes 
and  desires. 

But  when  he  would  found  a  new 
religion,  give  to  the  world  the  com- 
passionate Father  in  heaven,  teach 
the  new  commandment  that  men  love 
the  Lord  their  God  with  all  their 
hearts  and  their  neighbors  as  them- 
selves, he  did  not  trust  these  things 
to  the  crowd,  not  even  to  the  inspired 
crowd,  stirred  by  his  words  and  shout- 
ing "Hosanna"  to  his  name. 

No,  he  taught  his  new  religion.  By 
the  slower  method  of  instruction,  day 
after  day  he  carefully  inculcated  the 
new    principles    of   living,    explained 

29 


THE    CHARM    OF 

the  stories,  performed  miracles.  The 
twelve  special  pupils  he  chose  to  in- 
struct were  manly  men,  men  of  ele- 
mental power  and  passion,  quick  to 
respond,  slow  to  understand — and  yet 
only  one  failed  him. 

The  church  is  catching  a  new 
glimpse  of  the  significance  of  his  meth- 
od. Here  men  have  been  inspired,  not 
taught;  there  taught,  not  inspired. 
Here  men  have  been  stirred  to  action 
but  not  taught  how  to  act;  there  in- 
structed as  to  how,  and  left  without 
the  consuming  desire  to  put  their 
knowledge  into  everyday  life. 

Perhaps  the  fact  that  the  church  has 
seen  with  a  new  vision  the  method  of 
Jesus,  reveals  itself  more  clearly  in 
the  Sunday  school  than  in  any  other 
department  of  its  work. 

30 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

There  it  attempts  the  task  of  re- 
ligious education  and  instruction,  and 
there  it  inspires  child,  youth  and  man, 
and  gives  to  each  an  incentive  for  ac- 
tion. 

The  task  of  even  attempting  reli- 
gious instruction  under  conditions  ex- 
isting today  is  a  tremendous  one. 

Men  of  all  creeds  and  of  none  have 
agreed  that  religious  instruction  must 
be  given.  But  the  problem  of  how 
and  by  whom  they  have  left  to  others 
for  solution.  Some  say  It  must  be 
given  by  the  home  and  the  home  does 
not  accept  the  task — sometimes  be- 
cause it  will  not,  often  because  It  can- 
no! 

Some    say,    give    the    task    to    the 

school,  but  the  public  school  cannot 

accept   It.    It   can   teach   morals.      It 
31 


THE     CHAR  M     O  F 

has  taught  morals,  and  is  giving  moral 
education  more  fully  today  than  ever 
before.  All  that  it  might  do  in  this 
line  it  does  not  yet  realize,  for  its 
leaders  have  not  yet  heard  the  Voice 
nor  felt  the  charm.  But  religion  as 
such  it  cannot  teach.  The  moment 
one  begins  to  teach  religion  he  stimu- 
lates thought.  Thinking  means  ques- 
tioning, and  if  one  questions  he  must 
be  answered.  The  church  has  not 
agreed  as  to  the  answer,  and  religion 
has  not  found  universal  phrases  by 
which  it  may  express  itself.  Until 
men  agree  and  universal  phrases  are 
found,  religion  as  such  cannot  be 
taught  in  a  school  which  is  public, 
which  belongs  to  all  alike,  and  in 
which  men  of  all  creeds  and  no  creed 
have  equal  rights. 

32 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

The  task,  then,  of  religious  instruc- 
tion and  inspiration  falls  upon  the 
church  and  it  meets  the  task  with  its 
school  held  for  one  short  hour  one  day 
in  the  week.  In  that  hour  it  must 
instruct  and  inspire  all  degrees  of  in- 
telligence from  the  baby  of  three  in 
the  kindergarten,  to  the  man  of  ma- 
turity in  the  adult  department. 

It  must  attempt  this  task  with  an 
ordinary  and  purely  voluntary  teach- 
ing force  and  with  pupils  who  may 
attend  or  not  as  they  please. 

When  men  look  at  the  task  thought- 
fully and  intelligently  with  a  broad 
comprehension  of  what  it  implies,  it 
is  no  wonder  they  cry,  "Impossible — 
the  task  Is  impossible." 

But  the   charm   has   fallen   upon   a 

thousand    hearts    and    men    hear    the 
33 


THE     CHARM     OF 

Voice  more  clearly  every  day.  It  calls 
them  to  attempt  the  impossible  as 
truly  as  it  ever  called  from  mountain 
peak,  ocean,  or  air. 

And  at  once  as  if  by  some  common, 
irresistible  impulse  men  have  respond- 
ed to  the  call. 

Around  the  need  and  the  work  a 
definite  literature  has  sprung  into  ex- 
istence, and  keen-minded  men  are 
every  day  writing  the  results  of 
thoughtful  investigation  and  study. 

Other  men  have  plunged  into  the 
work  of  organization  with  results  that 
have  astonished  even  the  most  hope- 
ful. Earnest,  intelligent  study  and 
wise  experiments  have  evolved  an 
agency  for  the  building  of  character 
whose  power  the  future  will  reveal. 
Into  the  hands  of  thousands  of  men  of 

34 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

organized  classes  has  been  put  the 
Book  which  no  man  can  read  without 
thinking,  and  whose  words  no  man 
can  study  long  and  not  see  his  brother, 
know  his  brother's  need  and  be  con- 
vinced of  his  own  duty. 

The  fact,  that  on  a  single  Sunday 
fifty  thousand  men  face  for  an  hour 
the  significant  words,  "Whoso  hath 
the  world's  goods,  and  beholdeth  his 
brother  in  need,  and  shutteth  up  his 
compassion  from  him,  how  doth  the 
love  of  God  abide  in  him?"  means 
hope  to  those  who  have  heard  the  Voice 
and  felt  the  charm.  It  turns  coura- 
geously to  the  task  of  equipping  its 
young  men  and  women  for  the  fight. 

Last  Sunday  fifty  strong,  sane,  lib- 
erty-loving young  men,  slaves  only  to 
the    temptations   of   passion    and   sin, 

35 


THE     CHARM     OF 

sat  down  together  to  discuss,  "Has  re- 
ligion really  anything  to  offer  which 
will  help  a  man  in  the  hour  of  tempta- 
tion?" and  listened  to  half  a  dozen 
young  fellows  like  themselves  who 
frankly  testified  that  it  had,  explained 
what  it  had  done  and  appealed  to 
them  to  put  it  to  the  test.  The  fact 
that  such  a  class  could  meet  means 
something  to  those  who  see  the  sum- 
mit of  the  distant  ranges  behind  which 
something  lies  hidden,  waiting. 

Last  week  on  a  single  morning,  ten 
classes  met  simultaneously,  and  will 
meet  every  week  in  ten  homes  of 
wealth  and  fashion  in  a  single  city,  to 
study  for  one  hour  with  open  Bibles, 
the  principles  of  Jesus  and  how  they 
may  be  applied  to  the  life  of  every 
day.    Those  who  have  felt  the  charm, 

36 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

though  the  world  shout,  "The  task  is 
impossible,"  take  courage  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  fact  like  this. 

The  fact  that  organized  classes  of 
college  men,  business  men,  mechanics 
and  artisans  are  by  the  score  taking 
up  seriously  the  study  of  that  Book 
and  the  vital  questions  it  inspires,  are 
striving  with  all  the  strength  of  their 
manhood  to  understand  it  and  each 
other,  has  a  meaning  to  those  who 
have  heard  the  Voice. 

But  the  Sunday  school  has  not  been 
content  to  seek  only  the  mature  men 
who  have  lived  awhile  in  the  world, 
seen  its  need  and  felt  its  tempta- 
tions. Not  alone  with  the  young 
men  and  young  women  has  the 
task  been  accepted  and  attempted. 
Inspired  by  the  Voice,  men  and  women 

37 


THE     CHARM     OF 

have  turned  their  attention  to  the 
most  vital  part  of  the  whole  problem 
— the  boys  and  the  girls  in  their  teens, 
seeking  ideals,  trying  to  find  them- 
selves, swept  away  by  the  temptations 
of  the  street  and  the  thousand  temp- 
tations that  spring  up  in  their  own 
complex  beings.  The  boys  and  girls 
weakened  by  over-indulgence  or 
crippled  by  dwarfing  poverty — men 
and  women  alike  are  accepting  the  tre- 
mendous task  of  attempting  to  under- 
stand them  and  to  supply  their  needs; 
to  give  them  a  religion  which  will 
satisfy  their  hunger  and  strengthen 
them  to  be  good,  while  at  the  same 
time  it  supplies  motive  for  service 
and  gives  instruction  that  the  service 
may  be  real,  well-balanced  and  sane. 

The    Sunday   school    is   attempting, 
38 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

as  never  before,  to  point  them  to  men 
and  women  who  are  worth  while,  that 
their  faith  in  life  and  men  may  be 
kept  pure  and  strong.  It  points  to  a 
Florence  Nightingale  and  says, 
"Women  are  like  that.  Womanhood 
is  capable  of  that."  It  points  to  a 
simple  girl  who,  single-handed  and 
alone,  takes  up  the  task  of  supporting 
mother  and  younger  children  and 
through  the  hard,  toiling  years  makes 
no  murmur  but  lives  her  unseen,  heroic 
life.  "A  girl  can  be  like  that,"  it  says. 
It  points  to  a  great  specialist  spending 
day  after  day  in  the  laboratory  toiling 
unremittingly  to  understand,  to  find 
the  cause  of  some  great  ill  that  he 
may  save  his  fellows.  No  thought  of 
danger  can  move  him,  no  amount  of 
self-sacrifice    daunts   him.     There   he 

39 


THE     CHARM     OF 

stands  until  one  day  the  disease  seizes 
him  and  he  dies,  passing  on  the  knowl- 
edge so  dearly  bought  to  aid  a  fellow 
hero  in  his  search  for  truth.  "Men 
are  like  that,"  it  says. 

It  points  to  a  mechanic  as  he  stands 
hidden  away  in  the  stifling  smoke  of  a 
burning  ship,  keeping  the  engines  at 
work  though  the  fire  creeps  nearer  and 
all  physical  nature  cries  to  him  to 
escape.  There  he  stands  until  the  ship 
touches  shore  and  he  dies  while  his 
fellow  men  above  him  are  taken  to 
safety.  "Men  are  like  that,"  it 
teaches. 

It  reveals  the  man  as  he  holds  himself 

steady  in  the  hour  of  awful  test  when 

he    may    sign    his    name,    simply    his 

name,  and  feel  in  his  hand  the  money 

which  will  bring  to  his  loved  ones  the 
40 


THE     I  M  POSSIBLE 

comforts  for  which  they  suffer.  Yet 
he  will  not  sign  his  name.  "Men  are 
like  that." 

Slowly,  under  such  instructions, 
there  creep  into  the  souls  of  the  boys 
and  girls  admiration  and  love  for  their 
fellow  men  which,  with  the  years,  may 
grow  into  something  of  that  com- 
passion which  sent  the  Christ  to  Cal- 
vary to  die  that  humanity  might  know 
what  love  means.  And  those  who  see 
the  response  of  the  boys  and  girls  in 
their  teens  to  such  teachings  of  life 
and  love  rejoice  that  at  last  the  Voice 
calling  so  long  is  beginning  to  be 
heard. 

For  years  past  the  power  of  the 
charm  has  sent  intelligent  workers  to 
the  ten  and  twelve-year-old  children, 
with  music  and  lessons,  stories  and  in- 

41 


THE    CHARM     OF 

spiration  adapted  to  their  needs.  And 
longer  still  the  little  ones  of  six  or 
eight  have  been  led  along  sane  and 
natural  highways  to  the  door  of 
truth  and  tiny  babies'  feet  have  been 
guided  to  the  Father's  heart.  Even 
to  the  cradle  in  the  home  the  charm 
has  drawn  women,  until  fathers  and 
mothers  who  had  forgotten  religion, 
have  felt  once  more  its  power  and 
heard  its  call. 

Thus  far  the  Voice  has  led.  The 
teaching  force  has  felt  its  power,  re- 
sponded to  its  calls.  The  simple  fact 
that  thousands  of  dollars  are  being 
paid  gladly  each  year  to  leaders  who 
shall  guide  the  teachers  in  their  search 
for  knowledge  of  truth  and  ways  by 
which  it  may  be  imparted,  the  simple 
fact  that  thousands  of  men  and  women 

42 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

are  setting  aside  time  and  money  to 
take  courses  of  study,  to  read  books,  to 
take  tests  that  they  may  be  able  more 
intelligently  to  give  religious  instruc- 
tion and  more  surely  and  deeply  in- 
spire their  pupils  to  be  their  best,  to 
follow  the  Christ  in  obedience  and 
love,  means  to  those  who  have  eyes 
to  see,  that  the  charm  is  increasing 
its  power. 

The  Sunday  school  is  one  agency, 
perhaps  the  dynamic  and  potential 
agency,  at  work  today;  for  it  is  in- 
telligently inspiring  the  souls  of  men 
and  women,  young  and  old,  and  en- 
deavoring to  instruct  them  definitely 
in  the  things  that  make  for  charac- 
ter. It  is  at  work  in  a  large  way  with 
an  organization  made  up  of  business 

men,  theologians,  students  of  the  mind 
43 


THE     CHARM     OF 

and  of  the  heart.  As  an  organization 
it  is  far  reaching  and  it  spares  neither 
time  nor  money  in  its  efforts  to  put  in 
the  hands  of  the  workers  in  the  in- 
dividual schools  the  best  methods,  ma- 
terial and  equipment  it  can  discover. 
But  this  is  not  enough.  Not  here  is 
the  task  complete.  Not  here  may  we 
sit  down  to  rest  assured  that  the  Spirit 
of  Brotherhood  through  the  Sunday 
school  will  find  its  wav  into  the  world. 
The  Sunday  school  is  not  enough, 
for  on  the  Sabbath  day,  even  while 
teaching  a  class,  one  may  hear  the 
steady  tramp  of  the  scores  of  feet  that 
pass  the  church,  that  give  no  thought 
to  its  school  or  its  Bible  and  but  little 
to  its  God.  The  world  is  so  large,  the 
time  is  so  short  and  character  cannot 
be  made  in  a  day.    Out  in  the  world 

44 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

where  things  are  hard,  where  evils 
press  and  where  character,  weakened 
and  ruined,  struggles  to  regain  control, 
the  Voice,  undaunted,  calls.  Here 
is  "something  hidden,  waiting.  Go," 
it  says.  And  men  hearing  the  words 
start  their  constructive  work  and  their 
work  of  reform.  Playgrounds  and 
clean  places  of  recreation  and  amuse- 
ment spring  up  to  do  their  blessed 
work  of  prevention,  while  rescue 
homes  shelter  the  forlorn  sixteen  year 
old  girl,  who,  lost  in  the  puzzling 
whirl  of  life  she  does  not  understand, 
now  cries  aloud  in  her  agony  the  piti- 
ful words,  which  once  heard  can  never 
be  forgotten,  "Let  me  die,  I  can 
never,  never  be  good  again,  never, 
never."  And,  her  cry  at  last  heard, 
men  spring  to  action  to  save  her  sis- 

45 


THE     CHARM     OF 

ters.  And  as  the  facts,  cold,  hard 
facts,  untinged  by  imagination,  slowly 
appear,  the  burning  desire  for  reform 
stirs  scores  of  other  hearts. 

The  Voice  is  heard  and  men  of 
sterling  character  begin  their  work — 
the  most  wonderful  and  telling  of  all 
the  varied  work  of  man — the  work  of 
creating  public  sentiment.  The  church 
speaks,  the  school  speaks,  the  press 
speaks,  the  honest  rich  and  the  honest 
poor  speak,  decent  men  of  every  walk 
in  life  speak.  Public  sentiment  is 
aroused,  men  get  together  and  seize 
tlie  sword  that  makes  the  monster 
Greed  tremble  as  he  sees  the  mighty 
Sword  of  the  Law  turned  in  behalf 
of  the  weaker  brother.  In  the  power 
of  the  law  the  monster  loosens  his 
hold.  Trembling,  the  Spirit  of  Broth- 
46 


THE     IMPOSSI  B  L  E 

erhood  rises  from  the  ground,  stands 
upon  its  feet,  gains  strength,  then 
points  here  and  there  over  the  world 
calling,  "Go!  go!  the  work  has  but 
begun.    Your  brothers!  See!  See!" 

Thus  far  the  Voice  has  led.  But 
the  Spirit  of  Brotherhood  is  weak, 
his  voice  is  faint  from  the  struggle. 
He  cannot  as  yet  be  heard  by  ears 
closed  by  the  roar  and  din  of  traffic, 
nor  answered  by  hearts  palpitating 
with  desire  for  personal  gain  and  the 
possession  of  things. 

The  Spirit  of  Brotherhood  is  weak 
but  not  cowardly;  faint,  but  not  fear- 
ful. His  Voice,  though  heard  only  in 
comparatively  small  circles,  here  and 
there  in  the  world,  is  clear  and  un- 
mistakable and  he  feels  the  power  of 
the  charm. 

47 


THE    CHARM     OF 

But  a  few  weeks  past,  he  spoke  to  a 
group  of  women  to  whom  it  was  re- 
ported that  in  certain  stores  in  their 
city  young  girls,  immature,  in  their 
early  teens,  received  such  a  mere  pit- 
tance for  their  long  hours  of  work 
that  only  a  ten  cent  luncheon  was  pos- 
sible for  the  most  prosperous  among 
them,  and  the  others,  obliged  to  save 
the  ten  cents  for  the  street  care  fare, 
went  without  luncheon  or  brought 
from  home,  wrapped  in  paper,  crack- 
ers and  bread  and  ate  it  hurriedly 
in  the  only  place  provided  for  them, 
a  dark,  narrow  hall  where  it  was  im- 
possible to  sit  down  and  where  the 
polluted,  poisoned  air  made  it  hard  to 
stay  even  for  a  moment. 

Time  was,  when  such  women  would 
have    listened    to    the    story   and    dis- 

48 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

missed  it  as  having  nothing  to  do  with 
them  or  with  their  daughters.  That 
time  is  past.  They  listened,  they  in- 
vestigated, they  found  it  all  true  and 
even  more  than  they  had  heard.  They 
acted.  The  girls  now  have  a  small, 
clean  lunch  room  where  the  fresh  air 
may  give  them  a  chance  to  regain  a 
little  of  the  strength  they  lose  in  the 
deadening  atmosphere  of  the  crowded 
store.  The  relief  upon  their  faces 
as  they  eat  and  rest  and  talk  is  good 
to  see. 

But  that  is  not  all.  Those  women 
whom  once  the  condition  of  such  girls 
could  not  concern  have  gone  deeper 
and  some  day  they  will  speak  with  the 
power  of  the  law  behind  them,  and 
they  will  be  heard. 

Hardly  a   month  ago    a    merchant 

49 


THE    CHARM     OF 

from  whose  store  a  bicycle  was  stolen 
faced  the  guilty  boy  in  the  children's 
court.  The  boy's  face  was  pale,  hard, 
defiant.  With  the  kind,  encouraging 
questions  of  the  judge  the  face  soft- 
ened, slowly  the  hardened  criminal 
disappeared  and  a  sinning  child  stood 
in  his  stead.  Yes,  he  had  meant  to 
scrape  the  wheel,  paint  it  over  and 
sell  it.  He  needed  the  money — yes, 
his  brother  was  so  sick  he  couldn't 
sit  up.  Three  weeks  ago  he  lost  his 
job.  They  must  have  food.  Yes,  an- 
other boy  had  told  him  it  was  a  good 
way.  The  story  told  so  reluctantly, 
told  without  emotion  as  if  such  things 
must  be,  went  on  until  the  merchant 
asked  for  probation  for  the  prisoner. 
It  was  proven  when  he  went  out  to 
get   the   facts.     Every  statement  was 

50 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

true.  In  the  cellar  was  the  knife  and 
the  can  of  paint.  On  the  fourth  floor, 
on  a  wretched  cot  lay  the  older  broth- 
er, a  boy  in  years,  but  a  man  in  ex- 
perience and  suffering.  Each  morn- 
ing, he  said,  he  tried  to  go  to  work. 
He  couldn't.  No  matter  how  hard  he 
tried,  he  could  not  walk.  It  was 
plainly  evident  he  never  would  go  to 
work  again.  The  mother  was  there 
washing — just  as  the  boy  had  said. 
the  younger  children  helping  with  the 
work.  The  picture  the  judge  had 
drawn  from  him  was  there — a  fact. 
It  had  been  so  different  three  years 
ago,  the  mother  said,  before  their 
father  died.  He  was  a  good  man.  He 
had  been  killed  in  the  shop — a  belt 
slipped.  They  had  not  put  on  the 
guard.   The  company  had  been  kind; 

51 


THE     CHARM     OF 

they  had  buried  him  and  given  a  hun- 
dred dollars.  She  too,  spoke  without 
apparent  feeling,  as  do  those  who  have 
learned  to  endure. 

The  merchant  went  down  the  stairs 
out  into  the  sunshine,  pushed  his  way 
along  the  sidewalk  crowded  with  noisy 
children,  thinking  of  a  thousand 
things,  but  most  of  all  of  the  white- 
faced  lad  in  the  court-room.  "Some- 
thing is  wrong,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"that  all  this  can  be."  Later,  he  said 
it  to  his  partner  and  added,  "Boys  like 
him  ought  to  have  a  fair  chance;  they 
haven't  it.  They  need  friends  like  you 
and  me."  "What  can  we  do?  Sin 
and  poverty  have  existed  since  the 
world  began.  That  we  can  remedy 
it  is  a  foolish  notion,  an  impossible 
task.    There  are  letters  awaiting  your 

52 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 


attention."  He  picked  up  the  letters, 
but  before  opening  them  turned  once 
more  to  his  partner  and  said,  "Men 
have  tunnelled  under  the  sea.  They 
have  learned  to  fly — surely  they  can 
solve  a  problem  like  this.  There  must 
be  a  way." 

The  Voice  had  called,  the  charm 
had  gripped  him  and  one  more  v^as 
added  that  day  to  the  host  of  individ- 
uals seeking  the  welfare  of  their  fel- 
lows. 

It  is  a  great  day  in  which  to  be 
alive.  The  world  is  filled  with  effort, 
organized  and  unorganized,  expressed 
in  club,  society,  school  and  church,  but 
joined  in  one  purpose — to  create  a 
higher  type  of  character,  a  more  sensi- 
tive community  conscience,  a  better 
public  sentiment — that  the   Spirit  of 


53 


THE    CHARM    OF 

Brotherhood  may  have  a  chance  in 
solving  the  complex  problems  of  hu- 
manity. 

The  time  has  come  when  more  than 
one  Columbus  stands  on  the  shore  of 
unknown  seas  determined  to  make  the 
venture — more  than  one  Marconi  ex- 
periments with  invisible  ether  waves 
with  confidence  that  some  time 
through  empty,  unresponsive  space  the 
answer  will  come.  But  many  grow 
weary  in  the  struggle  with  great  odds, 
push  aside  the  task  and  say,  "I  am 
tired." 

"Tired?    Well,  what  of  that— 

Didst  fancy  life  was  spent  on  beds  of  ease 
Fluttering  the  rose  leaves 

Scattered  by  the  breeze? 
Come,  rouse  thee,  work 

While  it  is  called  today. 
Tired?    Arise,  go  forth 

Upon  thy  way." 

54 


THE     IMPOSSIBLE 

The  seemingly  impossible  is  only 
difficult,  hard. 

"Hard?    Well,  what  of  that? 

Didst  fancy  life  one  summer  holiday 
With  lessons  naught  to  learn 

And  naught  but  play? 
Go,  get  thee  to  the  task ! 

Conquer  or  die — 
Truth  must  be  learned; 

Learn  it  then  patiently." 

The  Spirit  of  Brotherhood — it  is 
the  Spirit  of  Christ.  For  centuries  in 
a  thousand  tongues,  to  the  little  child 
in  the  morning,  to  the  youth  in  the 
heat  of  the  day,  to  the  old  in  the  twi- 
light, from  behind  the  ranges  it  has 
called,  "Something  hidden — lost — 
waiting  for  you"  Go — follow  the 
Christ,  and  find  it. 


55 


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